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Amid Broad Legal Challenges, EPA Proposes Narrower Definition of WOTUS

December 16, 2018

In a move widely applauded by the power industry, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of the Army proposed a new definition of “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) that could exempt groundwater and ditches from regulation under the Clean Water Act (CWA).

The measures follow other recent significant regulatory actions by the agency. On December 6, the agency also announced proposed revisions to performance standards governing carbon dioxide emissions from new, reconstructed, or modified coal-fired power plants. On November 15, the EPA clarified guidelines on when activities can be grouped together to determine whether they trigger New Source Review (NSR) permitting. And on November 7, it posted a final implementation rule for the 2015 ozone standard.

A Narrow Definition for ‘WOTUS’

The revised definition for “WOTUS” proposed by the EPA and the Department of the Army on December 11 significantly narrows the number of waterways and wetlands that fall within the jurisdictional scope of the CWA compared to a contentious rule finalized by the Obama administration in June 2015.…

Trump EPA Scraps CCS as BSER for New Coal Units

December 14, 2018

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has significantly relaxed requirements needed to build new coal-fired power units in the U.S.

The revisions proposed on December 6 for performance standards governing carbon dioxide emissions from new, reconstructed, and modified coal power units respond to the Trump Administration’s Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth, which directed the EPA and other agencies to review existing regulations and revise or rescind “those that unduly burden the development of domestic energy resources beyond the degree necessary to protect the public interest or otherwise comply with the law.”

Among the proposal’s key changes to the Obama administration’s 2015-finalized New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) are that they drop partial carbon capture and storage (CCS) as the best system of emission reduction (BSER) for new coal units, citing “high costs and limited geographic availability of CCS.”

Instead, for new units, the EPA proposed limits for CO₂ emissions based on “the most efficient demonstrated steam cycle in combination with the best operating practices.”…

Siemens Cutting 200 Jobs at Texas Service Center

December 12, 2018

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Siemens on December 11 said it would lay off about 200 workers at a gas turbines parts and components service center in Houston, Texas, sometime in late 2019 or early 2020. A company spokesperson made the announcement Tuesday, saying the cuts are due to weak global demand for the company’s turbines.

Siemens in a statement said the decision was “difficult.” The company, in a letter to the Texas Workforce Commission, also said the layoffs were partly due to overcapacity within the company’s network.

Siemens in September said that it would cut 2,900 jobs in Germany to boost the competitiveness of its Power and Gas and Process Industries divisions. The company at the time said the cuts would save about $ 590 million.

Lisa Davis, member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG, in a statement at the time said, “The market for fossil power generation has contracted substantially. Against the backdrop of this structural change, the agreement we’ve reached [with the company’s unions] is critical to improving our competitiveness.”…

Dominican Republican to Get Floating Combined Cycle Gas Plant Outfitted with Battery Storage

December 8, 2018

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A novel floating power plant that combines a 145-MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant and a battery energy storage system could begin operating in the Dominican Republic by early 2021.

Siemens and the marine arm of Singapore-based ST Engineering on December 3 said they jointly received an order for a SeaFloat barge-mounted power plant from Bermuda-based Seaboard Corp. subsidiary Transcontinental Capital Corp. The independent power producer is developing the Estrella del Mar III project in the Dominican Republic’s capital of Santo Domingo.

The hybrid project is based on Siemens’ SCC-800 2×1 SeaFloat concept. The shipyard-constructed floating power barge includes two Siemens SGT-800 gas turbines and one SST-600 steam turbine. “The gas and steam turbine generation sets are of single lift package design for floating applications utilizing integrated based frame design with three-point mount,” the company said in a news release.

The project also includes a SIESTART solution; Fluence Energy, a joint venture between Siemens and AES, will provide a 5-MW/10-MWh battery energy storage system to provide frequency regulation control.…

Plagued by Grim Challenges, Vogtle Nuclear Expansion Lags Behind Schedule, Says Oversight Consultant

December 6, 2018

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The two-unit Vogtle expansion in Georgia faces major challenges that are poised to derail its schedule and ramp up costs—and the project is already behind schedule, a consulting firm tasked with construction oversight of the project told regulators.

In revealing testimony filed with the Georgia Public Service Commission’s (PSC’s) public interest advocacy staff on November 30, Donald Grace, vice president of engineering for Cost Plus Technology—Nuclear Construction Oversight (CPT), noted that the total construction cost—which includes all owner-shared costs but excludes financing costs—to complete the two Vogtle units by the scheduled November 2021/2022 timeframe is $ 17.1 billion. Only about 60% of the project is complete, he said.

Meanwhile, the project faces several potentially debilitating challenges that could cause delays and drive up costs. Foremost among them are labor shortages. While Georgia Power noted about 7,000 workers were onsite as of December 4, according to Grace, “Obtaining sufficient numbers of qualified craft labor pipe fitters and electricians are necessary to support the planned installation rate for bulk piping and electrical commodities.”…

Developer Sues TVA Over Cancellation of Bellefonte Deal

December 4, 2018

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The real estate developer who has tried for more than two years to buy the assets of the canceled Bellefonte nuclear power plant project in Alabama has sued the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) after TVA last week pulled out of the deal to sell the plant.

Attorneys for Franklin Haney, whose Nuclear Development LLC (NDLLC) group submitted a winning $ 111 million offer for the plant’s assets at auction in November 2016, filed a lawsuit November 30 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama in Huntsville, charging TVA with breach of contract.

TVA said the sale could not be finalized because the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has not approved a transfer of the project’s construction permits from TVA to Bellefonte. Haney is asking for more than $ 60 million in damages if NDLLC’s purchase does not close.

“The Atomic Energy Act requires that the ownership of a nuclear facility be under the licensing of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and that (license transfer) is required for us to complete the purchase agreement,” TVA spokesman Jim Hopson said in a statement Friday, the day the sale was supposed to close.…